Meat-stacker.



E. M. STI'YES.

MEAT STACKER.

APPucATlow HLED FEB. 5. 19:5. RE'NEWED MAY 14. 1917.

Patented July 3, 1917.

3 SHEETSfiSHEET I.

E. M. STILES.

MEAT sTAcKER. APPLICATION FILED FEB.5,1915. RENEWD MAY14,1917. 1,2 1,96%. Pamed July 8, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. M. STILES.

, MEAT STACKER.

APPucATloN HLED 158.5, 1915. RENEWED MAY 14,1917.

rarnnr clarion.

EDWARD M. STILES, OF MOUN-T PLEASANT, IOWA, ASSVIGNR T0 U. S SLICINGMACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A COREORATION I OF ILLINOIS.

MEAT-STACKER.

Application fil'ed February 5, 1915, Serial No. 6,198. Renewed May 14,1917.

T0 all whom it 'may concem:

Be it known that I, EDWARD M. S'riLns, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mount Pleasant, in the county of Henry and State of Iowa,have inventedl certain new and useful Improvements in Meat-Stackers, ofwhich the following is a specification. This invention relates toimprovements in meat stackers for stacking slices of meat'as they aredelivered from' the meat-slicer, and one of the objects of the inventionis to provide an improved stacker having'rneans for collecting andstacking the slices as they are cut, thereby obviating the necessity ofcollecting and stacking the slices by hand` A further object is toprovide an improved machine of this Character, embodying a conveyerhaving impalement pins or prongs for receiving the flexible thin slicesfrom the cutter as they are cut, to convey the slices over a curvedsurface and then in a substantially straight line into a position to bedelivered from the conveyer, the pins or prongs remaining in engagementwithl the slice as it is passed over the curved surface, and also duringits movement in the substantiallyl straight line, the points of the pinsor prongs, or the portions thereof which are in engagement with theslice, being always maintained in such relation that the space betweenadjacent pins will not vary, during the entire traveling motion of thepins and conveyer.

A further object is to provide an improved machine of this Character,having means for delivering the slices from the conveyer and 'pilingthem upon a collector support.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new anduseful ob- ,iects, as will appear, the invention consists in thefeatures of novelty in substantially the construction, combination andarrangement of the several parts, hereinafter more fully describedandclaimed and shown in the accompanying drawings illustrating theinvention and in which i Figure 1 is a top plan view/of a portion ofI aslicing'machine, having an attachment applied thereto, constructed inaccordance with the nrinciples of this invention.

Fig. V2 is' a top plan view of the stacker showing the' parts inanotherAposition with respectV to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevation taken on line 3-45, Fig. 2. f i

specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1217.

Serial No.v 168,589.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line 4--4, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail 'sectional viewT taken on the line 5-5,Fig. 3.

Fig 6 is an elevation of the supporting frame for the conveyer.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail taken 'on line 7-7, Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line 8-'8, Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawsectional view ings, the numeral10 designates generally 18 to present the meat to the cutter 11, all. as

are well known in this art 'and form no part of the present invention.

Arranged adjacent the cutter 11., is a conveyer, designated generally bythe reference numeral 19 in Fig. 5 and this conveyer is supported by aframe work shown more clearly in F ig. 6, the frame work preferablycomprising a base 20 and superposed spaced members 21, 22 and thesemembers are preferably of a triangular configuration with portions cutaway for the sake of lightness.

The member 21 is supported above the base 20 by means of upright tubularelements 23 and the member 22 is supported above the member 21 bysimilar tubular elements 23,.any number of which may be provided` andthe parts are fastened together preferably by means oft'ie rods or'bolts24, which pass through the' members and the tubular elements.

The frame thu formed is arranged adjacent the front of the machine andin proximity to the cutter 11 so that one face of the frame will extendalong the path of movement of the support 12, and arranged adjacentanotherface of the frame is a collector support 25, to be hereinafterde-. scribed. Mounted in suitable bearings, pref- -erably carriedfbv themembers 21, 22 are 'ally with respect preferably arranged in pairsrespectively connected byupright axles 29, and 31 and the ends of theseaxles' are journaled in suitable ball 'bearings 32.

One pair of rollers is preferably arranged adjacent each corner of theframe and passing over the respective series of rollers, which arespaced from each other, are endless. flexible belt elements 33, 34 andthese. belt elements are connected by spaced upright pin carryingelements 35. The ends of these elements are offset as at 36, formed bybending the ends of the element laterto the element and the ex-ltremities of these portions 36 are again bent in a-direction as at 37,to be substantially parallel with the body portion of the element, andthe extremities 37' are arranged adjacent l;the outer faces of the beltelements '33 'and 34 to be secured thereto., The axles 29,30 and 31connecting the rollers 26, 27, 28 respectively are of a diameterconsiderably smaller-than the diameter of the rollers so that `when theflexible conveyer elements 33 and 34 are traveling, they will move thepin carryingelements so that they will pass over or around'the rolls 26after which the elements 35 will travel in a substantially straight'line.

During the traveling movement of the conveyer,the spaces between thepoints of the pins or prongs 38 on adjacent elements v35, will be alwaysmaintained the same, that s is the distance between adjacent pins 'willnot vary, whether the elements 35 'with their.- associated pins aretraveling -in a straight -line or over the curved surface, and thisis'rendered possible because the extremities of the pins or prongs 38are always. maintained in a substantially direct straight line with thedrive elements 33, 34, as shown clearly in Figs. 4 and 5, but the bodyportions of the elements 35 will be allowed to .assume positions closetogether as they are passmg over the curved surface.

With this construction it'will be -manifest that when the prongs or pins38 pick up the thin flexible slice as it is cut, and convey it away fromthe cutter, the first movement of the'slice when the pins or prongsengage it, is over a curved surface, and then in a substantiallystraight line after passing that surface. By maintaining the spacesbetween the points of the pins or prongs against variation at all times,and while they are in contact with the'slice, it-will be'manifest thatthe slice will not become torn, stretched or distorted, but will v'bemaintained against distortion during its movement upon the conveyer, andat alltimes during the movepins or prongs may be secured to the elementby passing them through the 'apex of' it is desired, flanges 40 may beprovided on some of the rollers.

In the present form of the invention, the conveyer elements 35 are givena forward and backward reciprocating movement, in

i directions substantially. parallel with vthe direction of thereciprocating movement of the support or carriage 12, and this move-`ment may be accomplished in any desired or suitable manner, such as bymeans of an arm 41, (see Fig. 1), which is preferably connected w1th thesupport 12 to project beyond the front edge thereof and into a slot 42provided in an upright member 43, which latter is preferably connectedwith the endless elements 33, 34,l so that when the support 12 is movedforwardly to effect a cutting operation of the article, the conveyerelements 35 will be correspondingly moved to .receive the slice from thecutter as it -is cut, and when the support 12 moves' backwardly, for thenext cutting operation,

'the conveyer elements 35 are correspondingly moved so as to receive thenext slice as 1tt1s cut.

arm 41 and the conveyer is' so arranged 'as to permit the properoperation of'the con- The connection between the wise of the axis ofrotation of the rollers, if l ably from the chain box 45 of the machineand supported by the scrape'r is a curvedguard or Shield 46, whichstands adjacent and in close proximity to the extremity of the teeth orprongs 38, as the latter are moving' over` the pulleys 26. This scra er'44 serves asa means for preventing the t, in slice from adhering to thecutter and the curved guard? or Shield 46 serves the purpose ofmaintaining the slice in engagement with the prongs 38 as the latterpick up the slice and also prevents the slice from being thrown ofl" ofthe conveyer during the movement of the latter, inasmuch as there isalways more or less "momentum, which might tend to throw the slice fromthe conveyer. The Shield 46 is curved as shown and is so arrangedthatthe extremities of the prongs will travel in close proxim-ity thereto'to infin a substantially straight line and which line is formed by therollers 26, 28, to carry the slice into a position to be delivered uponthe collector support 25, in which position, the sliceis-lif-tedfrom'the 'conveyer, out of engagement'wit-h the pins or prongs38 and delivered to the support 25.

In order to effect this dumping operation of the slices, so that they`will be superposed upon thesupport 25, it is desirable that the.conveyer be arrested momentarily in its movement, and this will'alwaysinsurethe delivery of suceeeding slices from the conveyer at the 'same'place upon the support.

' This is accomplished by taking advantage of the interval of rest whichoccurs' in the reciprocation 'of the support 12 when. it changes itsdirection of movement, or at the point where the arm 15 which isconnected with the gear 14, is passing over the dead center, and theinterval of rest is therefore imparted to the conveyer, 'inasmuch as theconveyer is connected With 'the supportt12 and its movement isresponsive to the movement of the support 12.-

- To remove the 'slices from the 'conveyer,'

i any suitable means may be e-mployed, such for instance as a fly 47having a body portion and a series of fingers 48. This fly is mountedfor rocking movement by means of I a suitable bearingV 49, securedpreferably to the member 21 of the supporting frame, and the ,fingers'48 extend between the pins or prongs 38 ,in directions lengthwise ofthe conveyer, and terminate adjacent the rollers' 26, and theextremities of the fingers are eurved or bent ;as at 50 to permit theslices caried by the conveyerto pass over the extremities of thefingers. These fingers are arranged adjacent the base of the prohgs' orpins, preferably in close proximity to the` body portion 39 of theelements 35' and some distance from the 'extremities of the pins.

In order that the fingers will assume this position withirespec'tto theprongs, the end of the'body of the fly adjacent the bearing 49 isbent oroffset as at 51, to conform to 'the contour'of the elements 35.

VDuring the interval of rest of the con- `veyer, the fly 47 is rockedabout its pivot 49 into the-;position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4 todump the slice upon the collector support 25, and after this dumpingoperation, the fly is returned to its normal position in any suitablemanner such as by means of a spring 52, (see-Fig. 2). This dumping orrocking movement of the fiy may be effected inany suitableymanner, but asimple and eflicient means utilizes the gear 14, upon which is provideda cam portion 53 so arranged that as the arm 15 is passing over the deadcenter, this cam 53, or the high portion thereof, will engage an arm 54on a rock shaft 55, the latter being mounted in suitable bearings 56'andhaving connected therewith an upright 57, which isl in turn connected bymeans of a suitable link 58 with,

the fiy as at 59, and the cam 53 will rock the fly against the tensionof the spring 52.

'Thus it will be seen that as the slice is cut, it will be taken' up bythe conveyer and carried away from the cutter into a position to bedelivered upon the collector vsupport 25, and when the conveyer with theslice thereonreaches this position, it will be momentarily arrested inits motion, and during this interval of rest, lthe cam 53 will 'operatezthe fly to remove the slice from the conveyer and deposit it upon thecollector support. Afterthe slice has been thus delivered, the 'cam willpass out of engagement with the arm 54 and thefly will resume its normal-position, and the conveyer and support 12 will be moved back to theirstarting positions as'soon as the arm 15 passes over the dead center, tocut and convey away another slice to be similarly delivered to thecollector support`25 and'superposed upon .'the sliceilast delivered to'the support 25.

Unless provisionkis made to compensate for the increasing size of theStack of slices on the support 25, it will be manifest 'that thesliceslwould not be piled properly, therefore, the collector support 25in the present form of the invention comprises a platform upon whichtheslices are delivered and this platform has depending therefrom aplurality of uprights 60, any number of which vmay beprovided, and theseuprights have heads 61 provided on the free extremities thereof andtelescope'into tubular uprights 62, which latter are formed withShoulders 63` to prevent the disengagement of the uprights from thetubular member 62.

Springs 64, any number of w-hich may be provided, are arranged beneaththe platform 25, and tend normally to elevate the 'latter,F andthese`Springs areof suchv a.

strength'that the 'platform 25 will beloweof ered by the operation ofthe fly 47 in de- /livering the slice on to the platform, and' thesDrings may b'e so proportioned that the platform will be lowered uponeach operation, to an'extent equal to the thickness of the slice that isdelivered thereto.

In' order to retain the. platform in its adjusted position during thestacking operation, one of the uprights 60, may be provided With aseries of teeth 65, and a dog or pawl 'in the arrangement of the severalparts without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. The combination of a slicer, a support for the slices, and mechanismOperating intermediate the slicer and the support for receiving theslices as they are cut and delivering them to the support, the saidmechanismv embodying a reciprocating fiexible slice engaging element.

2. The combination of a slicer,' a support for the slices, .andmechanism Operating intermediate the slicer and the support forreceivingthe slices 'as they are cut and delivering them to the support,the said mechanism embodying a reciprocting flexible slice engagingelement, said element operated from the slicing machine.

3. The combination of a slicer, a support for the' slices,,mechanismOperating intermediate the slicer and the support for receiving theslices as they are cut and delivering theml to the support, the saidmechanism embodying a reciprocating fleXible slice. engaging element,prongs on said element for engaging and holding the slice,

and a fly carrier for lifting the slice fromv the prongs.. w

. 4. The combination of a slicer, and means for receiving the slice asit is cut and carrying it away from the slicer, said means embodying afiexible reciprocating slice engaging element.

5. The combination of a slicer, meansfor receiving the slice a's i't iscut and conveying it away from the slicer, said means embodying alflexible slice engaging element having a forward and backward movement,prongs on said element penetrating the slice, and means forv removingthe slice from said prongs.

6. The combination of a slicer, a flexible slice engaging element forreceiving the slice'as it is cut and conveying' it away, means forOperating said element and permitting an interval of rest in itsoperation, and means Operating during such interval of rest to removethe slice from said element.

7. The combination of a slicer, a flexible slice engaging element forreceiving the Atrating the slice, a curved surface,

and means Operating during such interval of rest to remove the slicefrom said element, the said element being actuated from the slicingmachine.

8. The combination of a slicer, a fiexible slice engaging element forreceiving the slices as they are cut and conveying them away, spacedprongs on the element penemeans for causing said element to pass oversaid curved surface during a portion of-'its operation,

and provision for maintaining the spaces w between the slice engagingportion of the prongs against Variation lduring the operation of thesaid' element.. I

9. The combination of a slicer, a flexible slice engaging elementslices. as they are cutl` and conveying them away, spaced prongs on theelement penetrating the slice, a curved surface, means.

for causing said element-i to pass over sai curved surface during aportion of its operation, provision for maintaining the spaces betweenthe slice engaging portion of the prongs against Variation during theoperation of the said element, and means for disengaging the slice fromthe prongs.

1'0. The combination of a'slicer, a fiexible slice engaging elementforreceiving the slices from the cutter as they are cut, spaced prongsarranged longitudinally of the element and penetrating the slice, acurved surface, means for causing said element to carry the slice overacurved surface and then in a substantially straight plane, andprovisions for maintaining the` spaces between the4 slice engagingportion of the prongs against Variation during their moveinent-` in astraight plane and over said curved surface.l l 1 11. The combination ofa slicer, a reciprocating flexible slice engaging` element for receivingthe slices from the cutter as the;7

lare cut, spaced prongs arranged longitudinally of the element andpenetrating the slice, a curved surface, means for causing said element`to carry the slice Over said curved surface and then in a substantiallyovei'said curved surface.

12. The combination of a slicer, a reciprocating flexible coiiveyer forreceiving the slices from the cutter as they are cut, said conveyerbeing responsive in its movement to the operation of the slicer, prongson the conveyer spaced from each other longitudinally of the conveyer,said prongs penetratiiig the slice as it is cut, means for causing theprongs to convey the slice in a curved path and then in a substantiallystraight path, and provisions for maintaining the spaces between thesliceengaging portion for receiying the of the prongs against variationduring their movement in the said curved path.

13. The combination of a slicer, a reciprocating flexible conveyer forreceiving the slices from the cutter as they are cut, .said conyeyerbeing responsive in its movement to the operation of the slicer, prongson the conveyer spaced from each other longitudinally of the conveyer,said prongs penetrating, the slice as -it is cut, means for causing theprongs to convey the slice in a Curved path ad then in a substantiallystraight path, provisions for maintaining the spaces between the sliceengaging portion of the prongs against Variation during their movementin the said curved path, said conveyer having an interval of rest in itsoperation, and means Operating during such interval of rest, forremoving the slice from the prongs.

14. In combination, a slicing knife, means for presenting material tosaid knife to be sliced, spaced prongs for engaging the' slice, andmeans for Operating said prongs to carry said slice away from' saidknife into flat position, said Operating means being arranged to holdthe slice engagig portions of said prongs spaced substantially uniformlyfrom one another during said operation.

15. In combination, a slicing knife, .a carriage movable relative tosaid knife for presenting material thereto tobe sliced, a conveyer fortransferring slices and havingI a portion thereof extending in thedirection of movement of said carriage and movable in unison therewithand another portion extending at an angle thereto.

16. In combination, a slicing knife, a carriage movable relative to saidknife for presenting material thereto, a fiexible conveyer having onerun extending in the direction of movement of said carriage and anotherrun extending away from'said knife, prongs on Said conveyer for engagingthe slices cut from said material, and means for maintaining the sliceengaging portions of said prongs in uniform spaced relation to oneanother during the. operation of said conveyer.

17 In combination, a slicing knife, a support for material to be sliced,said knife and support being movable relative toone another to severslices from one face of said material, and a flexible conveyer extendingalong said face to engage said material and having a portionextendingaway from said knife to transfer the slices as they are formed.

18. In combination, a slicing knife, means for presenting material tosaid knife to be sllced, a flexible conveyer having a turn in thedirection thereof for transferring the slices away from said knife,prongs on said conveyer for engaging said slices, and means formaintaining the slice engaging portions of said prongs at substantiallythe same distance from one another during the travel of said conveyeraround said turn.

19. In combination, a slicing knife, means for presenting material tosaid knife to be sliced, a conveyer for receiving the slices, a guidefor changing the direction of travel of said conveyer to vdirect theslices away from the slicing knife, said conveyer having a flexibleelement for coperating with saidI ,guide and also having prongs forengagi'ng the slices, said prongs being arranged with their sliceengaging portions in alinement with said fiexible element.

20. In combination, a slicing knife, means for presenting material tosaid knife to be sliced, spaced prongs for engaging the slice, means formoving said prongs into engagement with said material before it issliced, means for'changing the direction of movement of said prongs forcarrying the material away from said knife after it has been sliced, andmeans for maintaining said .prongs in uniform spaced relation relativeto one another during said operation.

21. In combination, a slicing knife, means for presenting material tosaid knife to be sliced, spaced prongs for engaging the slices, meansfor causing said prongs to engage the material before it is sliced,means for moving said prongs to carry the slices away from said knifeand into flat position, and means for maintaining said prongs in uniformspaced relation relative to one another' throughout said operation. y

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 29th day of January A. D.1915.

ED'WARD M. STILES.

lVitnesses:

FRANK B. HAVILAND, THOMAS H. STILES.

